Łódź (Litzmannstadt) ghetto scrip, 1 mark note, acquired by an inmate
Extent and Medium
overall: Height: 2.500 inches (6.35 cm) | Width: 4.625 inches (11.748 cm)
Creator(s)
- Marian Rokacz (Subject)
Biographical History
Marian Rokacz was born on December 14, 1910, in Poland. He was a resident of the Łódź before the war. Marian married Eva Honigbaum, who was born on August 23, 1916. Poland was invaded by Nazi Germany in September 1939. In February 1940, the German forcibly relocated the Jewish residents to a sealed ghetto. Marian assumed the identity of a Christian Pole and worked for the Germans during the war. After the liberation of the city by Russian troops, they were able to return to the large apartment in which they had lived before the war. The couple immigrated to the United States in March 1953 and had two sons. Marian, age 86, passed away in March 1987. Eva, age 88, died on October 13, 2004.
Archival History
The scrip was donated to the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum in 2004 by John Rokacz and Joseph Rokacz, the sons of Marian Rokacz.
Acquisition
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum Collection, Gift of John Rokacz and Joseph Rokacz
Funding Note: The cataloging of this artifact has been supported by a grant from the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany.
Scope and Content
Scrip receipt for 1 mark issued to Marian Rokacz when he was imprisoned in the ghetto in Łódź, Poland. Nazi Germany occupied Poland on September 1, 1939. Łódź was renamed Litzmannstadt and, in February 1940, the Germans forcibly relocated the large Jewish population into a sealed ghetto. All currency was confiscated in exchange for Quittungen [receipts] that could be exchanged only in the ghetto. The scrip was designed by the Judenrat [Jewish Council] and includes traditional Jewish symbols. The Germans closed the ghetto in the summer of 1944 by deporting the residents to concentration camps or killing centers. Marian had assumed the identity of a Christian Pole and worked for the Germans during the occupation.
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Conditions Governing Reproduction
No restrictions on use
Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements
Rectangular, offwhite paper scrip printed in green ink with German text in black ink. The face has a background latticework pattern. The denomination 1 is in the lower right corner in bold font. There is a 1 inch right margin, then a rectangle with a border of barbed wire interspersed with Stars of David. The inside has a background of interlocked Jewish stars with a large star in a circle in the upper left corner and a smaller one in the center of the right side border. Across the center is the textual denomination with text above and below and an engraved signature on the lower right. The serial number in red ink replaces the upper right border. The back has a blank background with the denomination 1 in bold font in the lower left corner. There is a 1 inch left margin, then a rectangle with a border of barbed wire interspersed with Stars of David. The inside has a background of interlocked Jewish stars with 2 sets of 8 concentric rings with the numerical denomination in the center. A scroll with the textual denomination connects the rings, then crosses over a 7-branched candelabrum in the center with text above and below.
Subjects
- Holocaust, Jewish (1939-1945)--Poland--Łódź--Personal narratives, Jewish.
- Holocaust survivors--United States--Biography.
- Poland--History--Occupation, 1939-1945.
- Jewish ghettos--Poland--Łódź.
- Jews--Persecutions--Poland--Biography.
Genre
- Exchange Media
- Object